Julen Lopetegui has reportedly emerged as a potential managerial target for Napoli.
When Luciano Spalletti made the decision to depart the club after winning the Serie A title, president Aurelio De Laurentiis opted to appoint Rudi Garcia as his replacement.
With Garcia having not managed in Italy since 2016 and most recently being in the dugout of Saudi Arabian side Al-Nassr, the decision to appoint the 59-year-old represented a surprise choice.
Just 10 matches into his reign, it appears that De Laurentiis has already grown frustrated with Napoli's inconsistent start to the campaign.
Garcia has won just five of his fixtures, with two of his three defeats occurring in Serie A and Napoli already seven points adrift of leaders AC Milan.
De Laurentiis has publicly acknowledged that he may have made the wrong choice in handing Garcia a return to the elite of European football, subsequently leading to an approach for Antonio Conte.
However, reports have suggested that the former Juventus and Tottenham Hotspur boss has opted against jumping at the opportunity to manage the Naples-based outfit.
According to Relevo, another name on De Laurentiis's shortlist is that of former Wolverhampton Wanderers manager Lopetegui.
After successfully guiding Wolves away from the Premier League relegation zone in 2022-23, the plan had been for Lopetegui to implement further changes to challenge for a return to Europe.
Instead, the decision was taken for the two parties to go their separate ways, a consequence of Wolves' owners not being prepared to back Lopetegui in the transfer market due to their concerns over FFP.
The 57-year-old's stock remains high, though, on the back of his previous success with Sevilla, and the Spaniard is known to be ready to take on a new challenge.
Lopetegui is said to be monitoring the situation as he contemplate his next job, aware that more may become available between now and the January transfer window.
Napoli are not back in action until they meet Hellas Verona on October 21, and it is unclear whether Garcia will be provided with a stay of execution to take charge of that match. body check tags ::
